


all I knead

by wordsofink



Series: weeks of solangelo [4]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: College AU, Cute, Flirting, Kisses, M/M, One-Shot, Pizza Shop, friends to boyfriends, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-11 02:27:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18420933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsofink/pseuds/wordsofink
Summary: Will works in a pizza shop. Nico doesn't come for just the pizza.*characters are not mine unless otherwise stated*





	all I knead

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buoyantsaturn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/gifts).



Nico’s not sure how the tradition started, but he’s starting to wonder if this is why habits can be bad. He’s at the pizza place near campus, the one he frequents way too much. Honestly, it’s kind of gross how often he’s there. It’s not like there’s a reason besides the food is amazing and the staff is friendly.

“Your usual?” Will asks when Nico walks in. Nico nods, dumping his stuff on the counter as he props himself on the stool. The pizza place was a hole-in-the-wall kind of location with flickering lights and creaky furniture, but Nico loves it. Random pieces of art and posters are plastered everywhere, and there’s a collection of plants in the window that probably live on the scent of garlic.

“And hot chocolate,” Nico adds.

Will rolls his eyes. “And you think I’m weird.” He rings up Nico’s order, moving to the other side of the counter to prepare the food. It’s nearly closing time, but Will lets Nico stay after hours while he preps the dough and ingredients for the next day and cleans up. In exchange, Nico keeps Will company.

“My sister came to visit this weekend,” Nico says. Will hums while he measures out the tomato sauce. He’s got it down to an exact science how Nico likes his food. Nico’s not sure whether to be flattered or creeped out. “She was really bummed when I told her that you didn’t work weekends.”

Though Will’s back is to Nico, Nico can still see the corners of Will’s mouth turning up. “Well, I’ve got to sleep sometime. And while I love this job, my arms need a break, too.”

Nico stops himself from making a pun. “We still got pizza, and your brother told me that you’re entering a 5k soon.”

Will sticks Nico’s pizza into the oven. “Yeah, it’s all his fault, really. Something about my legs needing to be the same as my arms. It’s really stupid, honestly, but I guess that’s what happens when your brother’s a physical therapist. He lectures you about exercise.”

Nico shrugs, finding it ironic. Will lectured Nico about his health all the time, even as he fed Nico pizza almost every night. “I have no idea. Hazel wants to be an interior designer.”

“So I’m gonna have to start training soon. I mean, I’m definitely not built to run.” Nico snorts. In his opinion, Will’s basically got the physique of a god. Nico had first stumbled into the pizza place in the winter, and Will’s blessed muscles had been covered up. It was quite a shock when Will started wearing short sleeves. Of course, he hasn’t seen Will’s legs, but he imagines that Will isn’t scrawny.

“You could start running in place while you work,” Nico suggests.

Will laughs. “I highly doubt that’d work. Lee would definitely have something to say about that.”

Nico’s stomach growls as Will places his food on the counter. He sets a block of cheese and a grater beside Nico, smiling, before moving to make the hot chocolate.

“How’d your test go? I bet you passed.”

Will groans. “Gods, I thought that test was going to kill me. When is a patient going to want to know the names of any of these bones? What they really want is for me to sing some song and have their arm magically be fixed. I’m going to be spewing doctor-y stuff, and no one is going to understand me. It’s like speaking another language. But, yeah, I did pass. Eighty-nine.”

Nico leans over to give Will a high-five. “Nerd.”

Will grins. “In training. I haven’t memorized the textbook yet.”

They fall into a comfortable silence as Nico eats and Will wipes down the counters in preparation for the dough. Will only worked four days of the week, but most of his hours came from these long nights where he had to make and then roll out all of the dough for the morning shift.

Will turns on the radio, and Nico pulls out one of his homework assignments. The counter was large enough to spread out his papers and laptop while he sipped his hot chocolate. He checks his phone to make sure Jason didn’t want him to pick up anything.

They both work in silence for a bit, Nico’s gaze occasionally drifting over to where Will’s kneading the dough behind the counter. His hands and arms are coated in flour, and Nico remembers when Will complained for twenty minutes straight about washing flour out of his hair.

Nico had stumbled into this place needing a hot meal and a refuge from the torrential rain outside, and the pizza place was the only store still open. (Honestly, Nico thinks places near campus should be open a lot later. College kids didn’t go to bed at ten.) Will had been at the counter, prepping ingredients for the next day.

Nico had apologized about ten times by the time Will had set a piping hot pizza in front of him. It was something about Will’s warm smile and probably a full belly that made Nico feel comfortable with Will almost immediately. And he’d kept coming back. It had taken him two weeks to work up to asking about Will’s schedule after days of missing Will at work. And now it was just tradition.

When Will’s ready for closing, Nico packs up his stuff, awkwardly waiting for Will by the door. Will grins, pulling Nico into a hug before stepping outside and pulling the door shut. Another thing Nico honestly doesn’t where it began. But he lets himself breathe in the scent of Will’s deodorant and garlic and flour before heading home.  
-  
Since meeting Will, Nico finds himself at a loss on Saturdays. All he really wants to do is head downtown to the pizza place and hang out with Will. But he can’t. Because Will isn’t working. In fact, Nico has no idea what Will does on the weekends. He assumes studying and lecturing whoever’s around about the dangers of smoking and eating greasy food all day.

Or maybe Will was out running. He did have that 5k to train for.

“Why don’t you get his number or something?” Jason asks. He’s probably fed up with Nico’s flopping around on the couch. “Or, better yet, ask him out.”

Nico glares at Jason. “Says the guy who waited an entire year for the girl he was crushing on to make the first move.”  
Jason shrugs. “Just trying to help.”

Nico face-plants on the couch, groaning. He finds this crush mildly embarrassing because he and Will barely knew each other outside of the pizza place. They went to the same university, but neither of them had hinted at hanging out outside of the restaurant. Nico’s not sure what that means. And if they never said anything about hanging out, Nico never needed Will’s number. He knew Will’s work schedule by heart.

“How can someone so beautiful be so annoying, though?” Nico asks.

Jason snorts. “You mean like every guy you’ve ever liked?” He shifts so he’s facing Nico. “Should I remind you of Percy?”

Nico throws a pillow at Jason. “Never mention Percy in that context ever again. I’ve moved on. We’re not speaking of that time ever again.”

“But you have to admit that he’s pretty annoying and still pretty good looking.”

“Are you waiting for him to ask you out? Because he’s pretty invested in his relationship with his girlfriend.”

Jason pouts. “Hey, I’m the one with a girlfriend.”

“Because she woman-ed up and asked you,” Nico huffs.

“Well, maybe Will’ll do the same thing. He can’t be that oblivious, can he?”

Nico’s just remembered why Will hugs him now. He’d meant to just say bye to Will on his way out, but he’d accidentally also gone in for a hug. He’s not even sure why. He never hugs people, but Will always looked so huggable. And now Nico knows that it’s very much a fact. Will Solace gave great hugs.

“Look, maybe he’s waiting for you to make the next move,” Jason says.

“Next move?” Nico asks.

“Yeah. He’s letting you stay way past closing hours. He lets you use his employee discount, and he hugs you. Every night.” He ticks each off on his fingers. “So maybe he’s waiting for you to reciprocate his advances.”

Nico hates how much sense Jason’s making.

“Why can’t he just also ask me out?” If Will asked Nico to get a salad with him, Nico’s ninety-five percent sure he’d say yes. And he doesn’t even like salad.

“Because he’s thinking that you’re either not interested or more oblivious than Percy.”

Nico frowns. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about Percy in relation to crushes.”

“He’s a good example.”

“So I just walk up to him and ask him out?” Nico asks.

Jason nods. “Pretty much. You could get him flowers or something. That’d be a nice touch.”

“You’re awfully knowledgeable for someone who didn’t ask his girlfriend out.”

“What can I say? I’m a lucky guy.”

Nico throws another pillow at Jason.  
-  
Nico doesn’t think he’s ever been this nervous to walk into the pizza place. Not even after he hugged Will that first time. Will had simply smiled, joking as they left that he had to hug Nico goodbye. And now it was a little awkward, but it definitely wasn’t unwanted.

But Nico wasn’t sure what would happen to their usual late-night hangouts if Nico asks Will out. What if Will said no? What if Will said yes? Would Nico need to plan a date? He’s overthinking so much that he doesn’t even notice that it’s not Will at the counter until he’s plopping down at the counter.

“Sorry, man. Will’s taking a night off,” Lee says.

“Is he okay?” Nico asks. He wishes he could make the flowers he’d gotten magically disappear. Or himself.

“Yeah, just overworking himself. Trying to help everyone and forgetting about himself. You know how he is.” Nico nods. He’d heard Lee complaining enough. “So I’m covering his shift so he can sleep. Though knowing him, he’s probably studying.”

Nico snorts, wondering if he should just leave. “Well, I guess that’s good,” he says slowly. “I mean, good that he’s supposed to be resting.”

Lee nods. “You can sit if you want. I know how to make pizza, too. The personal size, right?”

Nico nods. He might as well. He liked Lee well enough. Lee hums while he makes Nico’s pizza, and it honestly makes Nico feel a little homesick for Will. Which he thinks is stupid. Will didn’t own the place, and it wasn’t like Will was gone or even obligated to hang out with Nico.

“There you go,” Lee says. “On the house.”

He doesn’t say anything about the flowers, and Nico’s grateful. Maybe he thinks that someone gave Nico the flowers. That might actually be worse.

Lee doesn’t kick Nico out while he makes the dough and cleans up the store. In fact, Nico actually gets more homework done than usual. For some reason, Lee’s muscles aren’t as distracting as Will’s smile. Still, he feels unsatisfied as he packs up to leave. Maybe it’s the flowers in his hand. They look droopy now.

“Oh, hey, I forgot. Will’s a wimp, so he asked me to be the messenger. And I’m only agreeing because you two need some help.”  
Nico’s about to defend himself when Lee hands him a scrap of paper. He doesn’t even have to ask what it is when he sees a line of numbers and a smiley face.

“Thanks,” Nico says. He feels absolutely giddy as he arrives at his apartment. He contemplates waking Jason up, but he decides against it. Instead, he programs the number into his phone and sits there. Should he text Will tonight? It was super late, and Will needed rest. What should he even text? Was hi too casual? Should he be formal? Why was this so hard?

Nico ends up falling asleep before sending anything.  
-  
“Just in time!” Will calls as Nico walks in. Nico raises his eyebrows. It’s been a week since he’s gotten Will’s number and actually used it. Will had responded back almost immediately even though Nico had texted around two in the morning. From then on, both Lee and Jason had tried to institute a no-texting-after-midnight rule. No one listened to it.

“What am I in time for?” Nico asks.

“Your pizza just came out of the oven,” Will says, grinning. He proudly places Nico’s dish in front of him. “I didn’t know what you wanted to drink, though.”

“Lemonade?”

Will nods. “Coming right up.” He spins around, almost spilling the drink as he sets it on the counter. “So, I was thinking. If you wanted to learn to make dough, tonight would be a good night. You don’t have to be anywhere tomorrow morning, right?”

Nico shakes his head. “Just in my bed.”

Will laughs. “Morning people are gross.” He cleans up a bit while Nico eats, chatting about his day. Nico thought it was crazy how they could text so much and still have stuff to talk about. He wonders if Will saves some of his day for when they’re face-to-face. He doubts it, though.

“Just so you know, I definitely don’t have any upper body strength.”

Will rolls his eyes. “I doubt that. You were on the fencing team, right? That requires strength.”

Nico shrugs. “In high school. Since then, I’ve pretty much quit all physical activity that isn’t necessary.”

“Lee would tell you exactly what was necessary, and I bet it’s way more than you’re doing.”

“Whatever. Just teach me how to make dough.”

Will grins as he explains the ingredients, winking as he adds the ‘secret’ ingredient. Nico feels honored that he knows, though he’s sure it’s not as secret as Will makes it out to be. And then comes what Will calls ‘the fun part.’

“It’s kind of therapeutic, honestly,” Will says. “Just kind of smashing the dough around. And it smells amazing.”

Nico does love the smell. He’s begun to associate the smell of dough with Will so much so that he was walking by a bakery the other day and instantly thought of Will. He buries his hands in the dough to distract himself from thoughts of Will. Will was pretty perceptive, and Nico didn’t want questions about any blushing he might be doing.

“Also, we need to make like one-hundred of these balls,” Will says.

“I’m down for that.”

The dough is fun to work with, and Will also teaches him how to make garlic knots. Minus the garlic butter and herbs. It’s relaxing and fun and strange to be on the other side of the counter with Will. He almost expects Will to just reach over and hug him. Instead, their elbows knock together, and their fingers brush as they lay out their dough balls.

Will hums along with the radio, dancing a little whenever he makes a particularly perfect knot. It’s cute and funny and something Nico wants in his life every day. He doesn’t realize he’s stopped working until Will gently taps his side.

“Doing okay? You’re welcome to take a break. Or just watch me finish the rest. We’re almost done here.” They’ve been at this for at least two hours, and Nico doesn’t know how he’s not tired of working with dough yet. Probably because of Will. Will could probably make doing laundry fun.

“I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“Yeah?” Will asks.

“Yup. About how ridiculous you look right now.”

Will pouts, jutting his lip out further than necessary. Nico really wants to kiss him right now. “I’ll have you know that I look absolutely adorable right now. Maybe even handsome.”

Nico laughs, watching Will finish up the last of the dough balls. All that was left now was cleaning up the counter and closing. Nico needs to make his move. Now.

“Handsome, huh?” he asks.

Will wiggles his eyebrows. “Not to toot my own horn, but I’d say so. Ladies really love the freckles, you know.”

“What about guys?”

Will flushes a little. “Well, I had one boyfriend,” he starts.

Nico huffs, stepping right in front of Will. “I’m trying to flirt with you, doofus.”

Will cuts off abruptly, stammering a little. Nico sees his gaze dip down to Nico’s lips. “So do you like my freckles?” Will asks. “Because I have at least fifty, and I’d hate to have to end our relationship right here because you hated them.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “I love your freckles, Will. Can I kiss you?”

“I don’t know, can you?”

Nico doesn’t even bother with responding as he reaches up and presses his lips against Will’s. “I think I can,” he says. Will blushes a brilliant red, nodding slowly.

“Yeah.”

Nico has to stifle a giggle because he doesn’t think he’s ever seen Will speechless before. He leans in for another kiss. It’s not perfect or even overwhelming, but it’s nice. Will’s lips are kind of chapped, and they’re both covered in flour. And Will’s hip is probably pressed against the counter, but Nico can’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be.

“We, uh, still need to clean up all this flour,” Will says as he pulls back. Nico huffs, wondering if maybe the kiss wasn’t as perfect for Will. He almost considers just leaving. “But I guess that can wait a bit, yeah? I hear kissing is very good for one’s health.”

Nico doesn’t even have time to roll his eyes before WIll’s pulling him in for another kiss, flour and all.

**Author's Note:**

> part of the solangeloweek appreciation week :) check out buoyantsaturn's fics (on ao3 and tumblr) -- they're amazing!!
> 
> comments are appreciated :)


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